The Source Of Alienation And Discontent

The Marx’s theory of alienation was based on antagonism that things that are related together and are in harmony as well as social separation of man from aspect of man’s nature. One can only be left to ponder if alienation is a systematic result of capitalism. Predominance of private ownership of means of production and exploitation of wage labor all characterize alienation, therefore, alienation is the culmination of capitalism.

In Karl Marx’s Estranged Labour, capitalistic societies break down into two groups: the property owners and the propertyless workers. In this situation, the workers are at an extreme loss. Labor is a commodity that produces a commodity. The worker must put in loads of effort in order to create a product, yet owns little. Obviously working so hard, yet not having enough money for proper nutrition, can lead to starvation. Because of the strain caused by the repetitive and enduring nature of creating a product, the worker separates from the capitalistic world; making this estrangement to the product a worker creates the first type of alienation. His/her mind associates this alienation to the product itself, making the product seem hostile. A worker puts their life into a product yet doesn’t see the fruits of his/her labor, therefore becoming more alienated the more he/she produces. The products made contribute to a world outside of his/her own and the worker can feel himself or herself shrinking as these products outweigh his/her own items.

Alienation of the workers, for Marx, was seen as imposed on "a class that has to bear all the burdens of society without enjoying its advantages". This alienation forces that class "into the most decided antagonism to all other classes". Furthermore, it is the capitalists system that necessitates such alienation. In a capitalist society, over the long term, fewer and fewer people will own the means of production and the proletariat will be ever increasing. This happens because of the bourgeoisie's need to protect and maximize profits. Although Marx believed that human identity and consciousness should be attained from the work one

In Marx's writing he thoroughly explains alienation: the process in which people become foreign to the world they are living in. Marx discussed four types of alienation. Alienation from

Karl Marx believed that there are four aspects of a man's alienation that occur in a capitalist society. The product of labor, the labor process, our fellow human beings, and human nature are the four specific aspects of alienation that occur in a capitalist society.

According to Karl Marx, Social alienation is the state of being emotionally and socially isolated

Marx explains his views in The German Ideology as he states, “For as soon as division of labor comes into being, each man has a particular, exclusive sphere of activity, which is forced upon him and from which he cannot escape” (Marx: GI, 159) Here Marx is specifically describing how division of labor causes alienation among the worker and makes them estranged to the work that they are producing and society as whole. According to Marx, the worker suffers four types of alienation: alienation of the worker from other workers, from their product, from the overall production, and alienation of the worker from himself. (Marx; EL, 74 ). Alienation creates an inequality for the workers as humans we live in order of making work that pertains a value to the individual. Marx believes that labor is essential to human beings self-conception, labor is a form recreational growth however, through division of labor man becomes alienated from the experience of producing something personal that attains value to them and not just the

Marx’s theory of alienation is concerned primarily with social interaction and production; he believes that we are able to overcome our alienation through human emancipation.

Within a world of economics, we are nothing without wealth. Although, the product of labour has its consequences, for instance, if one puts their minds set only on funds, they become devalued as a person and hence become more of a commodity to society. The worker’s loss of reality is the foundation of their alienation (Marx, 1844). In the interest of economic hardship, Marx developed four types of alienation for workers in society that depicts different representations of estrangement against the working class. The first type, is alienation from the product, the products do not belong to the propertyless worker, and the more the worker produces the product the less the worker has. Workers who are isolated from their own labour process is the

The last type of alienation is alienation from oneself. Alienation from oneself grabs a person of all they can be and contribute to the world. Marx believed that what we contribute to the world in terms ever work is part of our species essence or what makes us human. What we contribute to the world is a manifestation of our creativity and creativity is an essential part of our human nature and our base product society. Many people alienated from their very human nature. People lose their sense of self, and who they are, we live to work rather than work being an extension of our

The concept of alienation by Karl Marx continues to be relevant in today’s capitalistic society. Alienation is ingrained in capitalism. Alienation can cause one to feel unworthy, meaningless, powerless, and inhuman in the work that they do daily. Craftsmen were once able to create a product from beginning to end and sell it at the price they desired. They had their own schedule and could create things at their own pace. It was a way for people to be creative and express themselves. This is sometimes not the case in today’s society. Workers today are removed from the creativity and have zero control on the production process, how it is produce and sold. They also have no control over work hours. They are told when to show up and how long and if not, they are easily replaced by someone else. In the following, I will be reacting to the article, “In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an Ipad” by Charles Duhigg and David Barboza and how it relates to Karl Marx’s concept on alienation.

Marx pushes further than Feuerbach to give a precise analysis of human self-alienation, of the reasons why humans get involved in clinging to an illusory world of projections in the first place. The problem, according to Marx, is fundamentally political. In his view, there are three types of people: The Proletariats, Bourgeois, and the Capitalists. The Proletariats who are the workers of the world. Proletariats are people who become a product that benefits the higher classes, making them alienated to labour. The Bourgeois are the middle class people. The Bourgeois doesn’t benefit from the Proletariats or the Capitalist. Capitalists are the rich. The Capitalists are the people who profit and own the Proletariats and what they produce. Marx believes

THE TERM "alienation" in normal usage refers to a feeling of separateness, of being alone and apart from others. For Marx, alienation was not a feeling or a mental condition, but an economic and social condition of class society--in particular, capitalist society.

Topic: One of the essential elements to Marx’s alienation concept is that of people or workers being alienated from each other under capitalism, it is still relevant in explaining the problems of the modern world.

The theory of alienation developed by Karl Marx depicts the estrangement of people due to living in a capitalist system of production. Through the manuscript “Estranged Labor” from his Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, Marx describes his theory of alienation and specifies on the four types of ways in which the worker is alienated. A vivid example of Marx’s theory of alienation can be seen through Charlie Chaplin’s comedy film Modern Times. In his film, the central idea of the theory of labor alienation and how the worker is affected by the alienation are depicted. The notion of alienation depicted in Marx’s “Estranged Labor” is also depicted in Chaplin’s Modern Times.